Hey friends, how are you today? How was your summer? What have you done these past few months? What were your ‘sights’ and ‘sounds’ of summer? I love this time of the year. God’s wonderful, beautiful, ‘good’ world shows herself best during the summer.

The cicadas breathe with the wind chime. The kids come with stories that must be told at the top of their lungs. These are the sounds of summer. The squirrels and the chipmunks are perhaps a little more playful. The once pale bodies are now beautifully golden. These are the sights of summertime.

Our family usually sings a song for everything left undone during the summer months. This song is called ‘Summertime’ by Ella Fitzgerald. I especially like the one with Ella and Louis Armstrong. Slow, easy, green, sunny, blue skies are all my favorite words during this time of the year.


Summer is for gatherings; it is for people to come together. It is for snuggles and ‘touchy feelies.’ Summer is for observing the people. Some have confidence in their stride. Others have a bent frame with hunches to their necks. Summer offers time to wonder what made one that way and the other, this way. It is to wonder why the grass is green and why the water is wet. It is to walk hand in hand. It is for the brave, the reckless, the young to go white water rafting and plane jumping. We pray that they surrendered their lives to Jesus’ before these adventures.

Summer welcomes noise, but it also invites the quiet. That time is my favorite. The quiet; the time to reflect and remember my blessings. It is time to count them. I start with my husband, our daughters, and our home. Then, my car, our church, my friends, and our families (my, my, my). New days, new opportunities to do better, to be better.

Summertime invites me to talk with my God constantly, about everything. “Did You see that Bluejay, Lord? Isn’t she pretty? Can You hear me, Father, over all the noise? Lord today is another 90° day, it is a little bit hot, but of course, I am not complaining”.


I am thankful for this time of the year. For all the events and activities that take place because it is that time of the year. For the people and the concerts and the trips to beach, I am thankful for it all. Too bad, we have to say ‘goodbye’ to warm weather, and shorts and tee shirts. I will miss you.



What are your favorite things to do during the summer? Where is your favorite place to be, during the summer?




36 responses to “EMBRACING SUMMER”
Lovely summer memories, Brenda, and so much to be thankful for! Your photos capture the carefree moments of summertime! We live in a beach town so it’s like being at a resort every day! My husband and I walk along the shore of Lake Huron and enjoy the beautiful sunsets!
Blessings!
❤️carmen
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Love the beach 🏖️ it truly was a special summer. Thank You
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Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family!❤️
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Beautiful pictures
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You MUST have had a glorious summer, Brenda–look at those bright, sunny smiles in the opening photo! (And what a handsome couple you make!) My favorite place to be in summer is on our deck, either early morning or late afternoon when it’s shaded. Love hearing the birds, watching our circus squirrels perform, or enjoying the visits of other less-frequent visitors like deer, fox, or chipmunk. At night the fireflies put on a spectacular display, lighting up our little woods like Christmas trees.
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Sweet summer reflection!! You got some really good snapshots too!!! ❤️
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It was a wonderful summer. We did so much, now we are trying to slow down 🥰🥰
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❤️
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Love it! It gives me some insight into who you are! Continued blessings to you and yours!
Penny
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Thank You, my friend. To our God be all the glory
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My favorite thing in the summer is air conditioning. But travel on ministry trips would top that actually.
A lot of fun nature for you Brenda. But no bears? Remember if you see a bear don’t try to hug it 🙂
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😂😂😂 we saw several when we went to the Smokey Mountains. They were as normal as squirrels 🐿️ I was shocked 😳
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Did you try to hug them?
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😂😂😂 nope
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We just returned from a family reunion in TN. I love my family! We spent a week together, hanging out, chatting around the fire pit, and goin on excursions. It was wonderful.
I did NOT ~ deep, heaving, pouty sigh ~ go kayaking all summer. 😞
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Noooo 😂😂😂 no kayaking!! So disappointed 😂🥰 love TN. Where did you stay?
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Pigeon Forge, Airbnb. Beautiful home, spectacular scenery, and visiting black bears. 😊
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I know about these visiting bears 🥰🥰
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That’s an easy question to answer. I look forward most to the summer camps, the children’s laughter and teens games… but most of all to the sound of their songs being lifted to the Lord.
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It’s sounds like the best place to be, especially during the warm months. Giving pride to our God
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I’ve never been north of Anchorage, but Fairbanks in the middle rarely gets up to 80 for its high; usually it’s around 60-70.
Over by Elephant Point off Selawik Lake their high rarely hits 60!🤠
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Perhaps, I’ll just stay on this side. Our winter is cold enough, my summer temperature should never remind me of winter😂😂
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First of all, I LOVE the featured image on this blog‼️ You both look so countrified and at ease at that tailgater or whatever.😉
As for our favorite things to do in the summer (besides hiding in A/C!😅) is to travel. We visited my sister in K.C. who has been in ‘hospice’ for over a year and is very stable with her routines and in a wonderful care facility. We visited our other sister and her hubby as well and went to their nice little church (that does NOT deafen attendees🤗) and other friends in Iowa and Indiana.
As for our favorite place, it is with each other wherever we find ourselves… but MY favorite place would be in northern Alaska any summer‼️😂
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We were at our church’s tailgate 🥰🥰 the food and the company was perfect. WOW, you’ve been to quite a few places. I live to travel too, but this year, we stayed primarily in NY, unfortunately. How high does the temperature rise in Northern Alaska? I’ve never been.
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Actually, I have never been to “northern” Alaska. That was somewhat tongue in cheek, because I like cooler to cold weather over warmer to hot! However, Fairbanks can get pretty warm during June and July, but never lasts long. Most of my time in the Great Land was on the Kenai Peninsula where, because of proximity to the ocean, it stays pretty moderate. We only had one week of -50F the year I was there.🥶
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You are actually one of the few people I’ve met that like the cold 🥶 most prefer warm or hot weather. Some times I can’t decide which I prefer. Because I’m in the season of ‘hot flash’ I now like the cold 🥶😂😂😂
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Taking our two grandchildren to our community pool. They are five years apart — yet both ages love the water! The sounds of their laughter, pics of them gobbling down blueberries and other snacks for a 10 minute break, and big smiles as they learn new tricks are the absolute best!
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Sounds perfect 👌🏽 there are no sounds as sweet as the laughter of kids. They are surely a gift from our God
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I love being outside and being able to eat outside in the summer. Having family and friends around to eat together. It’s lovely to feel the sun on your face and enjoy creation. Watching the new life start to establish itself and the bees who never stop working. The long days of summer.
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Me too! We have some porch swings we sit on to eat and enjoy. And we know when the season for biting flies begins, for then it is indoor eating only!
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I must these flies are the worst. They bite so hard and they are so persistent. 😇😇
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Ahh perfect days 🥰 I love days like these. Sounds absolutely perfect. God bless you, my friend
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I enjoy visiting our children and grandchildren during the summer.
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What a privilege to have the time to spend with family. Praise the Lord for time
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Yes, it was wonderful this summer to see four graduate, our younger ones healthy and active and the older ones enjoying themselves swimming and playing. I love knowing that they are growing up well, but I do want them to get closer to God. So, I pray and leave it up to God.
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Amen and amen 🙏🏽 my friend, once said, she isn’t sure how many of her family members are Christians, so she takes every opportunity to spend time with them, while on earth. I will pray with you for their salvation
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